The present invention concerns the manufacture of certain types of metal hand tools, particularly those which consist of a handle with a yoke attached at one end for carrying a work performing assembly. More particularly, the invention is applied to a type of socket wrench having an elongated handle which is secured at one end to a separate yoke, the legs of the latter in turn having a ratcheting socket drive mechanism pivoted therebetween.
When the yoke is forged or cast and then machined, a suitable socket or the like for the handle can readily be incorporated in the neck of the yoke. But making the yoke in this manner is relatively expensive. A yoke which is fabricated from flat stock, on the other hand, is less expensive to produce in this respect but there then arises the problem of how to affix the handle to the yoke in a manner which provides adequate strength for the tool without inflating its cost. This is especially important when the handle is relatively long and thus the joint between it and the yoke subject to heavy stress during use. Hence the primary object of the invention is to lower the cost of such tools by fabricating the yoke and then attaching the same to the handle in a manner which assures a joint of adequate strength.